Like A Kitten
by audrey-chan
Summary: Cassidy goes out on a date with a dude named Matt, calls Butch in the middle of the night ... feel free to read and flame me! XD


Like A Kitten  
  
It was about 1:30 in the morning when she called. She sounded absolutely pitiful.  
"Butch?"  
"Cassidy?" I grumbled. She had woken me up from a dead sleep.  
"Butch, can you come pick me up?" she asked. I could tell just from the tone of her voice that she had been crying.  
"Where are you?"  
"Outside The Club. It's kinda ... closed."  
"Wasn't Matt supposed to give you a ride home?"  
"Butch, please just come pick me up," she said, sounding exhasperated.  
"I'll be there as soon as I can."  
I knew that she and her boyfriend, Matt, had gone out to dinner, and then to a dance club. She was supposed to get a ride from him back to our little hideaway. I didn't give it much thought; too tired. So, I dragged myself out of bed to go pick up my partner. When I wakled outside to get in the pickup truck we had been using for transportation recently, a few scattered raindrops began to fall. Great. So Cassidy would be standing outside in the rain. Luckily, she was pretty obsessive compulsive when it came to being prepared for cold weather. She always had a jacket with her, and made me keep a blanket in whatever vehicle we had, 'just in case'. The drive was about 15 minutes to 'The Club', the local dance club just outside the downtown area.  
And there she was, sitting on the curb in her cute little black skirt and (short-sleeved) pink top. It had begun to rain pretty hard by now, and poor Cassiyd looked soaed. There was something about the way she looked, with her eyes so sad and her pigtails dripping wet, that reminded me of a kitten in the rain. She looked up, saw me, and hurried over, jumping into the truck.  
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" she sighed, wringing out her pigtails. "Put the heat on, it's freezing. And do you mind if we just sit here for a while? I hate being on the roads when it's raining like this."  
"Sure. Where's your jacket?"  
"In Matt's car," she said, her face turning grim, and looking away. "It was warm in The Clib, so I left it there."  
"Oh." There was a really long silence. "Well?"  
"Well what?" Her voice was clipped and tight.  
"... What happened?"  
"I got dumped," she said coldly, lifting her eyes to look out the window. "Matt found some other chick while I was talking to someone, left a note with his friend saying to find my own ride home and he'd drop off my jacket in the morning ... and left."  
"Oh," I said again. "I'm really sorry, Cass."  
"Yeah," she said. She inhaled deeply, like she was trying to hold back a sob, and shivered. I immediately took off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She looked up at me with such a pitiful look, that the image of a kitten again popped into my head.   
She looked shattered.  
We stared at each other for a minute, then I pulled her close for a hug while she burst into tears. The poor thing was freezing, so I pulled away after a few minutes of her crying, and retreived the blanket from the back, then tucked it around her. As she continued to cry, I sat, helpless. I found myself getting angry; How could Matt do something like this to sweet, beautiful Cassidy? If I went out with her ...  
But I didn't, I thought glumly to myself. I couldn't help but be jealous at the guys Cassidy dated. She had always been attractive me ... yet, she wasn't attracted to me at all, so I had to stick with just being friends. I did enjoy the few moments of her crying in my arms ...  
"What's wrong with me?" she managed to control her sobs long enough to state.  
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with you."  
"Yes there is ... otherwise ... why would he ..." she broke into sobs again.  
"You really loved him, didn't you?"  
"Well ... I ..."  
"You liked him a lot, then. This really hurt you."  
"Please," she sniffled. "If The Club was still open, I'd be drinking like mad right now."  
"Now, Cass, don't think like that. Why'd they close it, anyway?"  
"Fake police raid warning," she stated, as her gorgeous violet eyes, glazed with tears, drifted again to the window. "Butch ... why does this happen? Guys always dump me. I don't think I've ever had a boyfriend past two weeks. I'm must be the ugliest, stupidest girl on earth."  
"Cassidy, that's just ridiculous. It's a plain lie."  
"No, it's the truth," she said stubbornly.  
"Cassidy ... you are the most beautiful, intelligent, gifted girl I've ever met."  
"Oh, please," she sighed again, then looked into the review mirror. "Look at me. My hair's a ratted, tangled mess. My eyes are all bloodshot. I'm pale as a ghost."  
Her head drooped again, and she managed a few sniffles, a tear rolling down her cheek.  
"Cassidy," I said, "I don't know why he did this to you."  
She didn't say anything, just put her hands over her face and started crying again. I stared at her for a moment, then took her shoulders and hugged her close to me again. I just let her cry. Finally, she settled down a bit, and I opened my mouth again.  
"Sometimes I've been scared of pretty, smart girls. Scared of rejection. Lots of guys are. I just don't know why Matt ... left you. He must be pretty dumb."  
"I just don't see why either, I guess," she said, her voice in a whisper.  
"Maybe it's fate. There's somebody out there, waiting to meet you. And I'm the first one to say what a lucky person they are."  
"Really?" Her voice sounded like a weak mew. I took her chin in my hands and lifted her head until my eyes looked into hers. The poor girl had run out of tears. Her breath was coming in short gasps. Before she could say another word, I leaned forward, ready to kiss her quickly on the lips ...  
Cassidy pulled away, and scooted back into her seat. We shared an uncomfortable moment of silence.  
"Well," I sighed. "The rain's let up. I've used up a lot of gas keeping the heater on, so I'm gonna go to that little gas station around the corner. You should get yourself some coffee; you're still freezing."  
We pulled up to the gas station, not saying a word. She quickly disposed of the blanket, but kept my jacket draped around her shoulders. I watched her figure retreat into the gas station.  
What had I done? I shook my head; I had almost kissed her. I felt a sudden, sad pain; she had rejected me. I was stupid to even try. I sighed, finished filling up the truck, and went inside.  
She was staring at some sign on the wall; I don't even remember what it was about. But as I got closer, I realized she wasn't looking at the sign; her eyes were closed, and she was rubbing her hands around my jacket.  
"Cassidy?"  
Her eyes snapped open. She looked embarrassed.  
"Butch! I, um ... my money's in my jacket," she said, blinking a few times.  
"No prob. Just go get yourself some coffee. I'll pay for it."  
She got herself some coffee, I paid for everything, and we got back in the truck. We drove home in silence, her quietly sipping her coffee and me still trying to figure out what was going on. We reached the house and went inside, still not saying a word. Cassidy looked into the living room, then back at me.  
"You wanna start a fire or something?"  
"Sure," I shrugged. The house was cold, and I was scared Cassidy was going to get sick, so I pulled out one of those instant fire logs, and had it blazing pretty quick. She curled up on one end of the couch, hugging some teddy bear I'd given her a while back that she must've retreived from her bedroom. She motioned for me to sit on the couch with her.  
We sat, staring at the fire, for several minutes, before I finally spoke.  
"Are you feeling better?"  
"Yeah, a little," she sighed, then smiled at me sadly. "I'll be okay."  
"It's not the end of the world," I smiled at her, but she looked away sadly and whispered:  
"Then why does it feel that way?"  
I wanted to take her in my arms right then, tell her how much I loved and cared about her.  
But I knew that I couldn't.  
She curled up tighter and sighed, leaning her head against the side of the couch and staring into the fire, a few tears still remaining in her eyes. I tried to stay up for a while, but I feel asleep pretty quick.  
Later, I stirred, feeling someone's presence above me, breathing quietly. I kept my eyes closed.  
"Butch?" It was Cassidy. "Butch, are you awake?"  
I didn't move a muscle. I couldn't, for some reason.  
"Butch, I wanted to ... well ... you picked me up when I was dumped, you bought me coffee, kept me warm ... you supported me," she said, her voice in a barely audible whisper. "And, I guess all I can say is ... I really care about you. I really love you."  
I felt her lips bruch past mine.  
"Thank you ..."  
I said nothing, just pretended like I was still asleep. Finally, I felt something on my leg, and listened for the deep, rhythmic breathing of her slumber. I opened my eyes.  
She was curled up, head resting on my leg, her hear spread out like a fan. She was hugging that bear, and my jacket was still around her shoulders. She had a sweet smile on her face, and when she sighed, it sounded like a purr. I reached over and ran my hand through her hair.  
And I fell asleep, my hand on her head, petting the kitten.  
~*~*~*~*~  
Flames? Good thing I'm a pyromaniac ... odile@danceart.net 


End file.
